ABQ Times

The University of New Mexico’s Health Sciences Rio Rancho Campus (HSRR) is collaborating with partners in Sandoval County to host a series of small business trainings aimed at supporting the local community.

"It's really important to us that we are serving our community, that we're listening to our community and then responding in ways that support our community," said Laura Burton, PhD, Associate Director of HSRR.

Burton explained that a key part of the campus' strategic plan is to support economic development in Sandoval County. To this end, she has been working with New Mexico's Small Business Development Center, Sandoval Economic Alliance, and The Women’s Economic Self-Sufficiency Team (WESST).

“We started this collaboration and then talked to folks in the community about economic development. One thing that came up was that there's a lot of small businesses that could use help and training,” she stated.

The first training session hosted by the group focused on social media strategies and saw participation from more than 30 attendees. Encouraged by this turnout, HSRR decided to expand the training series for this year. Starting September 20, HSRR will offer six sessions running through December on various topics including creating a business plan, licensing and registering a business, marketing, and social media strategies. Each session costs $10.

Burton emphasized the importance of writing a business plan during these sessions. “A lot of times small businesses, even if they have a handful of employees, are running with a business plan in their head. But they've never actually written out a business plan. This training will explain that work and why that step is important.”

In addition to providing education and training, Burton noted the opportunity for businesses to build valuable relationships. “This training provides small businesses connections to organizations that can help them as they continue to grow,” she said. “It’s supporting startups and small businesses who may not know where to get help. This gives them a starting place and a connection to resources.”

Registration for the series is now open.